Pune, 16 January 2026: The first results of the Pune Municipal Corporation Election 2026 were declared as counting began across the state. Early trends showed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leading in Pune, setting the tone for a closely watched civic election after a long gap.
In Ward No. 20 (Shankar Maharaj Math–Bibewadi), BJP candidates Rajendra Shilimkar, Tanvi Divekar, and Mansi Deshpande emerged victorious. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) secured one seat in the same ward, with Gaurav Ghule defeating BJP candidate Mahendra Sundecha. Overall, the ward recorded a split verdict of three BJP seats and one NCP seat.
Early trends indicated BJP leading in 38 seats, while NCP was ahead in eight. At that stage, the Indian National Congress (Congress) had not yet opened its account in Pune.
That changed with a major development from Ward No. 18D, where Congress candidate Prashant Jagtap won a tightly contested battle. His victory marked Congress’s first win in Pune. Jagtap defeated Abhijit Shivarkar, who had recently switched from Congress to BJP and is the son of former minister Balasaheb Shivarkar.
Meanwhile, vote counting in Ward No. 29 under the Warje Karvenagar regional office was temporarily halted after candidates raised objections regarding the voting machines. Officials paused the counting process following a formal request, and further action is awaited.
